Ma. Lourdes Tumaodos Cabonilas

As Punong Barangay of Barangay Santa Cruz, Ma. Lourdes Tumaodos Cabonilas presides over the Sangguniang Barangay of the barangay in Ronda, Cebu, serving the 2023 - 2026 term. The Punong Barangay is a nationally recognised local government position under the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160).

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, the Punong Barangay leads the Sangguniang Barangay, signs ordinances and resolutions, represents the barangay in transactions with other government units, administers the barangay budget and appropriations, and oversees the Lupong Tagapamayapa that handles amicable settlement of disputes at the barangay level. The office is the most directly accountable elected position in the Philippine government.

Barangay Santa Cruz is one of 14 barangays in the municipality of Ronda, in the province of Cebu, in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Barangay Santa Cruz had a population of 3,573 residents — the constituency that Ma. serves as Punong Barangay. Cebu is classified as a 1st by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

Ma. Lourdes Tumaodos Cabonilas was elected to office in the most recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), which took place on October 30, 2023. Under Republic Act No. 12232, barangay officials elected in 2023 serve four-year terms, meaning the current mandate runs until 2026. The next BSKE is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, per COMELEC Resolution No. 11191.

The Sangguniang Barangay — which Ma. Lourdes Tumaodos Cabonilas leads — is the legislative body of a Philippine barangay. It passes barangay ordinances and resolutions, approves the annual barangay budget, and exercises oversight over the barangay's programmes and projects. Its composition includes the Punong Barangay, seven kagawads, the SK Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, all accountable directly to residents.